Of Love and Quidditch
by KT4
Summary: In Katie Bell's seventh year at Hogwarts, she learns that there's more to life than Quidditch. Ironically, Mr. Quidditch obsessed himself is the one to help her discover this. Katie/Oliver
1. I The Story of a Girl

_** Disclaimer: Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight: I wish I owned Harry Potter. K, not gonna happen! HP belongs to J.K. Rowling, the lucky woman.  
  
Summary: In Katie Bell's seventh year at Hogwarts, she learns that there's more to life than Quidditch. Ironically, Mr. Quidditch obsessed himself is the one to help her discover this. Katie/Oliver ...   
  
In chapter one, we get a glimpse of what Katie's home life is like, as well as a sighting of a hot Quidditch star while Katie shops for her school supplies.**_  
  


---------------------------------  
**Of Love and Quidditch**  
May 2003  
  
_by: KT_  
---------------------------------  
  
**I**  
  


    "No, Thomas, I am not going to tolerate this treatment any longer! What makes you think that it's fair that _you_ can go out and buy some damn thing that you don't even need but _I_ can't even buy a pair of shoes for a few Sickles when I need them?" The outraged voice of Laticia Bell floated up the stairs early one Monday morning.  
  
    The couple's argument this particular morning was nothing out of the ordinary, and neither was Thomas's response to his wife. "I earn the fucking money, so I should be the one to spend it."  
  
    Laticia let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Oh, right. I'd forgotten that I'm nothing more than a worthless piece of shit who does nothing but sit on her lazy ass all day." Laticia's voice was carrying the bitter sarcasm that she was known for. "Thomas, I do everything around this house. I believe that has earned me a pair of secondhand shoes!"  
  
    Katie Bell let out a muffled groan from underneath her bedspread as her parents' daily morning argument dulled to a silent roar. The indication that this particular row was over came in the form of a slam of a door and a loud, shouted curse from Katie's father, followed by another door slam. When Katie heard no more noises coming from downstairs, she removed her pillow from over her face and threw off her covers, then reached out a hand to silence the screeching of her alarm clock. It was just another normal beginning to a normal day in the life of Katie Bell, and Katie wanted nothing more than to be able to scream.  
  
    Climbing out of bed, Katie nearly tripped over a stack of textbooks that she had brought home with her over the summer holidays. All of her summer assignments had been neglected due to her parents' nerve wracking arguments that she had been a witness to nearly every day of her holidays; she had been reminded why she usually stayed at Hogwarts during Christmas and Easter. All summer, Katie had been going to bed earlier than she normally would have just so she could escape from their arguing, only to awake the next morning to them arguing _again_. Sometimes Katie wondered why, if they had so many disagreements, they married each other; that was exactly what she was pondering as she pulled a pair of khaki capris and a baby blue tank top from her closet and entered her bathroom to take a shower.  
  
    Twenty minutes later, Katie emerged from the hot bathroom fully dressed with her long light brown hair wrapped up turban-style in a towel. She sat at her vanity table and applied her usual make-up: foundation, powder, nude eyeshadow, a bit of blusher brushed across her cheekbones, and a light coating of vanilla lip gloss, before quickly blow-drying her hair and putting her feet in a pair of baby blue thongs. Then she exited her room, turning off the lights on her way out the door, and headed for the kitchen.  
  
    If Katie had not heard the heated argument between Laticia and Thomas just a half hour earlier, she would not have had a clue about any disagreements in the family. The scene in the kitchen looked like a typical family: Thomas was seated at the table, reading the Daily Prophet, and Laticia was standing at the stove, flipping an omelet with her wand. It almost seemed strange, but Katie was used to her parents behaving like this -- they were playing the "it never happened" card, and for the moment, that was perfectly okay with Katie.  
  
    "Morning, Mum," Katie said, pecking her mother on the cheek. Laticia smiled faintly and handed her daughter a plate with two slices of buttered toast and the recently cooked omelet and Katie headed to her spot at the table where a tall glass of milk was waiting for her. "Morning, Dad," Katie added, giving her father a small kiss on the cheek as well, before sitting down.  
  
    Neither Laticia nor Thomas responded to their daughter's greeting aloud, but Katie didn't let it get under her skin. It wasn't that the fact that sometimes it seemed as if her parents didn't love her didn't _hurt_ Katie ... it was just that Katie was so used to it that it didn't bother her anymore. After hurriedly eating her breakfast, Katie announced that she needed the key to the Bells' vault at Gringotts so she could make her school purchases that day, as she was to be leaving for Hogwarts the following morning. Thomas eagerly offered to go with Katie to Diagon Alley so she would not have to Floo alone, as he needed to be at his office early that morning anyway.  
  
    At her husband's offer, Laticia scoffed. "What, can't Tommy at least hide his excitement of finally getting the chance to see his secretary's newly implanted breasts in front of his wife and child?" she asked, giving Thomas a glare.  
  
    For a moment, Thomas glanced between Laticia, who was looking at him expectantly, and Katie, who was staring down at her nearly empty plate and playing with her fork. He let out a small sigh. "Laticia, that's enough," Thomas stated, his voice dangerously low. "You know there's nothing going on between my secretary and me."  
  
    Laticia rolled her eyes. "That's right, I keep forgetting your absurd excuse as to why exactly you've been out until all hours of the night for the past _week_," Laticia snapped hatefully.  
  
    "Tish, Katie's right here," Thomas whispered, gesturing at Katie, who was slowly moving toward the kitchen door, trying to escape from the room without having to hear more of her parents' petty arguing.  
  
    "Dammit, Thomas!" Laticia yelled, slamming an empty plate down violently on the table, causing it to shatter into little pieces. Katie flinched and involuntarily jumped back. "Don't 'Tish' me! You can go on to your little hussy at work and _I'll_ take Katie to Diagon Alley. She doesn't need to shop by herself anyway!" Laticia focused her attention on Katie. "Katie, get ready to leave," she said, her voice a bit harsher than Katie would have appreciated. Katie nodded in response before turning and practically running from the room.  
  
    A few minutes later, Laticia joined Katie in the sitting room, where Katie was sitting on the arm of the couch. "Are you ready, honey?" Laticia asked, her voice a bit softer than normal. Apparently she was feeling guilty for subjecting Katie to yet another argument with Thomas. For a brief moment, Katie relaxed.  
  
    "Yes, Mum," Katie replied, standing up from her spot. As she waited for Laticia to start a fire in the fireplace, Katie reached into the pot on the mantle that the Floo powder was kept in and pulled out enough for herself and her mother. Within minutes, Katie and her mum were standing in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron, which was particularly busy that day and Katie reminded herself that it was probably because school term was beginning the following day. Witches and wizards of all ages were swarming around and Katie looked around briefly, to see if she could spot anyone she knew. The crowd was so immense that Katie gave up just a moment later, sighing.  
  
    "What's the matter?" Laticia asked, grabbing onto Katie's arm and hauling her toward the entrance to Diagon Alley.  
  
    Katie was quick to respond. "Nothing." She followed her mother through the tall archway leading into Diagon Alley.  
  
    Laticia said nothing else. Once she and Katie were inside Diagon Alley, she let go of Katie's arm and began to walk very quickly down the street, expertly dodging various witches and wizards without ending up with so much as a misplaced hair. Katie nearly had to run to keep up with her and wasn't doing such a good job at avoiding running into people; she had almost tripped over a little boy that didn't look to be older than three or four, and he had promptly run to his mother, crying about the "mean girl" who had "kicked him". Of course, that earned Katie a sharp look from the boy's mother as she hugged her child lovingly and guided him in the opposite direction, as if Katie were some kind of deranged child-kicking maniac. At that, Katie let out an exasperated noise.  
  
    Finally, Katie and Laticia stopped in front of Madame Malkin's, where Laticia gave Katie a pouch of coins and instructed her to do her school shopping and meet her back in front of this shop in two hours. With that, Laticia turned and went her own way. Katie watched her disappear, then rolled her eyes. Her mother was probably going to go on a secret shopping spree while she was out of Thomas's watchful eye; whatever she purchased would be hidden in a friend's house, and then Laticia would every so often fetch an item and bring it back to the Bells'--Thomas would be none the wiser. In the many years that Laticia had been doing this, Katie had caught on to her scheme, but Thomas hadn't. Katie figured it had something to do with the fact that Thomas was far too preoccupied with "not" cheating on his wife to notice that Laticia was bringing home new clothes.  
  
    Katie looked into the pouch to see just how much money her mother had given her, as she was notorious for taking money from Katie's school funds in order to buy the contraband clothes. Luckily for Katie, Laticia hadn't taken a very noticeable amount, if any at all, and Katie knew that she would have more than enough to purchase her school supplies. However, that didn't change the fact that, as usual, she was shopping alone. A glance around her at all the kids pulling their parents into the various shops caused Katie to sigh in dejection before tucking the pouch of money into the pocket of her capris. Then, Katie looked around her and tried to decide where to begin her expedition for school supplies.  
  
    It didn't take long for her to notice that the shop in front of her, Madame Malkin's, had no line. With a grin, Katie realized that it was probably because most kids didn't enjoy being fitted for new robes; instead, they wanted to explore the fun shops, such as Quality Quidditch Supplies in hopes of finding a good deal on a broom or perhaps a set of Quidditch balls. However, for Katie, getting new robes was her favorite part of shopping; she loved the smell of them, the feel of them, and basically everything else about them. So, without a second thought, Katie headed through the front door of the shop and was almost instantly greeted by Madame Malkin herself.  
  
    "Katie Bell! Hello, dear! How are you?" the petite, plump witch asked, smiling in a welcoming manner.  
  
    Katie returned the older witch's smile. "I'm fantastic!" she replied enthusiastically. Madame Malkin was a kind old witch and she always chatted with Katie as Katie got her school robes. "I can hardly wait to go back to school," Katie added after a moment. _Isn't that the truth?_ a voice in Katie's head said dryly.  
  
    "I was beginning to think that you'd found someone else to get your school robes from," Madame Malkin said teasingly, referring to the fact that Katie was late in shopping. Usually, Katie completed her shopping almost two weeks prior to the beginning of school, but this year, she hadn't had the chance to get out of the house.  
  
    "Of course not," Katie answered in the same teasing manner. "I'm just a bit late, is all."  
  
    "Well, dear, just follow me and we'll have you fitted in no time!" Madame Malkin led Katie to a stool and set to work measuring her. "What year are you going to be in, dear?" she asked, making small talk with the younger witch, as she pinned the hem on a particularly pretty set of deep blue dress robes.  
  
    "Seventh," Katie answered simply, smiling. She was looking forward to this year; even though she had to take her NEWTs (which were, as their name implied, nastily exhausting). After leaving Hogwarts, she would be able to find a job and could leave her house and the arguing that existed in her house behind. That was the one thing that Katie was looking forward to the most.  
  
    Madame Malkin let out a small sigh, which made Katie's smile even wider. "Growing up is a hard thing to do, huh, Katie?"  
  
    "Yes, but I'm looking forward to it," Katie said honestly.  
  
    After Madame Malkin pinned the hems of a few more robes (black, standard Hogwarts robes) and hemmed them magically, Katie followed the woman to the front of the store where she paid for them. The total price of the five sets of standard issue robes and the two sets of dress robes barely made a dent in her funds, and since her robes were usually the most expensive part of her school shopping, Katie made plans to perhaps buy something Quidditch-related, just for fun. With a cheerful goodbye to Madame Malkin, Katie left the robes shop with her bags and emerged back onto the crowded street. The warm August sunshine flooded into her eyes and Katie had to squint at first.  
  
    She checked her pouch of money before once again tucking it away into the pocket of her capris. She checked the Muggle watch she wore around her wrist; according to it, she had spent nearly an hour inside getting her robes, which wasn't surprising as she and Madame Malkin had talked quite a bit while Madame Malkin fitted her, which slowed the process quite a bit. Katie had another hour before she was supposed to meet her mother again, so she needed to hurry.  
  
    Katie was just getting ready to walk to Flourish and Blotts to purchase her books when she heard a decidedly masculine voice call her name. "Oy! Katie! Katie Bell! Wait up!" Confusedly, Katie looked around her, trying to find the source of the voice. A mere few seconds later, a very familiar, very tall, _very_ handsome Scotsman appeared in front of her.  
  
    For a second, Katie just stared at her visitor. Then she began squealing delightedly and Katie dropped her bags and threw her arms around the neck of Oliver Wood. "Ollie! Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in _ages_! How have you been? Where have you been? What have you been up to? What brings you here? I thought you moved to France or somewhere like that!" Her questions were fired in such rapid succession that Oliver looked almost overwhelmed.  
  
    Oliver, who was still as handsome as he had been the last time Katie saw him, laughed jubilantly. "Katie, Katie, Katie," he said, his voice a bit strained due to the fact that Katie was hanging from his neck. "You're just like I remembered you, vivacious and a little spitfire!"  
  
    Katie let go and laughed along with her former Quidditch captain. "Well, are you going to answer my questions or are you going to just stand there and say, 'Katie, Katie, Katie'?" Katie couldn't help but notice that Oliver's smile was just as heart-stoppingly beautiful as it had been two years ago -- it still had the exact same effect on her, too. Katie could practically feel herself melting under Oliver's gaze, right then and there.  
  
    "Well, which do you want me to answer? You fired about a hundred at me," Oliver joked.  
  
    "All of them," Katie said simply, looking eagerly up at him. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "We have a lot of catching up to do, mister."  
  
    "That we do," Oliver replied, his voice softening. A ponderous look crossed his face and then his eyes lit up. "Hey, Katie ... we should go to Florean Fortescue's for an ice cream, what do you say? We can talk some there." His offer was so enthusiastic that Katie couldn't have refused, even if she had wanted to.  
  
    Katie nodded her consent and bent down to pick up her bags. When Oliver offered to help her, Katie had no qualms about handing over most of the bags and skipped ahead of him, giggling quietly to herself as Oliver stumbled along by himself, trying to see over the top of the pile.  
  
    Upon reaching Florean Fortescue's a few minutes later, Katie and Oliver found a small round table to sit at. It was outside on the sidewalk and offered a nice view of what was going on in the busy Diagon Alley street. The two had barely sat down when a young witch with long blonde hair and big blue eyes took their orders. She seemed to catch Oliver's attention and who was openly and shamelessly flirting with him, and in consequence ignoring Katie. She lingered around for a bit after writing down what they wanted on her pad of parchment, then walked away, keeping Oliver's attention the whole time. Katie had to kick him under the table in order to get him to focus his glazed-over eyes on her. She smirked at him.   
  
    "What?"  
  
    Katie rolled her eyes. "Nothing, but the next time you see a pretty girl, just keep in mind that having your jaw dropped to the floor while your mouth catches flies isn't exactly attractive," she informed him nonchalantly, all the while grinning evilly at him. Quietly, almost to herself, she added, "Loverboy."  
  
    "You're just jealous," Oliver teased, swatting her arm playfully. "I used to give my full, undivided attention to you and now that I'm noticing other girls, you feel the need to make fun of me just so you can make yourself feel better. I know these things, Bell."  
  
    "Full, undivided attention?" Katie asked skeptically. She let out a snort. "No, Ollie, dear. I believe _that_ was given to the lovely game of Quidditch, not me. And why would I be jealous? It's not like I _like_ you or anything." To herself, Katie added, _Not right now, anyway._ She remembered two years ago, when she would have done anything to get Oliver's romantic interests; she had been head over heels in love with the boy, which wasn't unlike all the other girls at Hogwarts.  
  
    Oliver grinned. "Keep telling yourself that, love," Oliver said in a voice that Katie couldn't help but think was sexy. He leaned across the table, inching closer and closer to Katie until she could feel his breath on her face, and added, "I know you want me."  
  
    Katie would have responded, but the same blonde witch from earlier chose that moment to bring their orders to them. Katie anxiously dug into her butterscotch ice cream and ignored the flirting going on between the waitress and Oliver altogether. By the time the waitress left their table, Katie's ice cream was gone and Oliver's had melted, making a vanilla and chocolate sprinkle soup in his cup. He didn't seem to care and just tossed it into a nearby trashcan. Then Oliver flashed Katie a triumphant grin and held up a piece of parchment that looked like it had been torn from the waitress's order pad. "Got her address," he said, sounding rather full of himself. "She's twenty and has a flat all to herself and said she 'gets lonely' sometimes."  
  
    Katie raised a perfectly arched eyebrow inquisitively. "Are you going to visit her or something? Have a little meaningless sex? Oh, Ollie, didn't know you were like that!"  
  
    It was Oliver's turn to kick Katie under the table, and he did, rather successfully. His face flushed with her comments. "Shut it, Bell. You know I'm _not_ like that," he said, sounding a little offended.  
  
    Laughing a little and rubbing her shin where Oliver's well-placed kick had hit her, Katie shrugged. A moment's silence passed before Katie leaned across the table and propped herself up on her elbows. "You never answered any of my questions, Wood. What brings you back here? I thought you were playing for Puddlemere United."  
  
    Oliver sighed and sat back in his chair, balancing on the two back legs. He put his hands behind his head. "Well, Puddlemere decided to take a break this year, leaving me jobless. Evidently, Dumbledore pays much attention to the Quidditch goings on, especially when it comes to Puddlemere, and sent me an owl offering me professorship at Hogwarts this year. Madam Hooch is visiting family in America for a few months this year and told Dumbledore that I would be a prime candidate for replacing her as flying instructor. Needing a job, I accepted."  
  
    "You're going to be at Hogwarts this year?" Katie nearly leaped across the table. She managed to latch her arms around her neck again to hug him tightly, cheek to cheek. She pulled back. "Oh my gosh, that's _great_! Ollie, it can be like old times again!" she shrieked, clasping her hands together happily. "Can you imagine how much trouble Ang, Lish, the twins, you, and I could get into together?" Katie already seemed to be plotting pranks in her head at that very moment, Oliver noted.  
  
    Oliver didn't want to burst Katie's bubble, but it had to be done. "Hey now, Kate," he said warningly. "Don't get ahead of yourself! I can't be participating in any of those foolish pranks like I did when I was still in school; then, I had nothing at stake because there was no way McGonagall was going to let her house Quidditch captain get expelled. Now, I'm sure she'll have no qualms about firing me if need be."  
  
    "Oh, she wouldn't fire you, Ollie," Katie assured him, nodding her head as if it eased any doubts Oliver had. "You're everybody's favorite former captain, babe!"  
  
    Oliver laughed. "You're impossible, _babe_," was his sarcastic response.  
  
    The two talked for a while longer; then, Katie looked at her watch and was astounded when she learned that almost an hour had passed. Her mother, always wanting to leave early, was probably either heading for or standing in front of Madame Malkin's at that very moment, waiting impatiently for Katie. Katie sighed, not wanting to leave Oliver. However, knowing that she had to, she said, "Ollie, it's been _great_ talking to you, but I have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, though, on the train. Right?"  
  
    Oliver smiled. "Of course, Katie," he said, standing up and handing Katie's bags to her. He bent down to hug the girl, who only barely reached his shoulders. Katie hugged him back tightly, resting her head against his well-toned chest. She could feel the muscles through his shirt and once again, Katie nearly melted. "Bye." Katie returned his goodbye and then walked away, not noticing the fact that Oliver's eyes followed her until she left his field of vision.  
  
    As Katie had expected, Laticia _was_ standing outside of Madame Malkin's, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground and checking her watch every couple of seconds. Katie made a face and bit her lip before running over to her mother, making herself pant to give her mother the illusion that Katie had been hurrying to meet her on time. Laticia rolled her eyes. "Katie, save it. I know you were talking to that Wood boy," she stated simply, sounding just slightly angry. It was better than Katie could have hoped for, so Katie didn't even try to protest.  
  
    "How did you know?" Katie asked, confused.  
  
    "I'm psychic," was Laticia's sarcastic, biting reply. "Let's go, Katie." She began to stalk off back toward the archway leading into the Leaky Cauldron and, with a heavy sigh, Katie followed.  
  
    It was later that night when Katie was up in her room packing that she noticed that she had forgotten to purchase anything other than her robes.  
  


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_To be continued ..._  
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**_AN: Man, I'm just darn proud of this, my very first chapter of my very first Harry Potter fanfiction (and any fanfiction, for that matter!)._** Please **_review._**


	2. II Away From the Hellhole

_** In chapter two, Katie's friends Angelina, Alicia, Cassidy (OC), Fred, and George are met and the first years' Sorting takes place. Oliver Wood is introduced as Hogwarts' new flying instructor.**_  
  


---------------------------------  
**Of Love and Quidditch**  
May 2003  
  
_by: KT_  
---------------------------------  
  
**II**  
  


    The next morning, Katie Bell woke up bright and early to finish her last-minute packing. She had sneaked back into Diagon Alley the night before to complete her shopping and, thankfully, had not been caught by her parents; they were too busy fighting yet again to notice her absence and thought she was asleep in her room.  
  
    "The French are glad to die for love," Katie sang to herself as she placed the last of her standard issue uniform skirts into her trunk. "They delight in fighting duels ... but I prefer a man who lives and gives expensive jewels."  
  
    _Marilyn Monroe certainly had the right idea,_ Katie mused to herself, allowing a small smile to form on her face.  
  
    "Diamonds are a girl's best friend!" Katie declared to her empty bedroom, throwing her arms out to her sides and reveling in the joy of belting out one of her favorite songs. Muggle or not, Marilyn Monroe was one of the greatest singers of all time and Katie had idolized her ever since she was a little girl, like many others -- Marilyn was a fairly popular name in the wizarding world and several Marilyn songs had been covered by wizarding artists. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" was one of Katie's top five favorite songs ever and she never grew tired of singing it.  
  
    Katie glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table; with a sigh, Katie realized that she still had another thirty minutes before she even had to _think_ about leaving for the station, and even then her parents probably wouldn't be ready. Unlike Katie, who liked to be as punctual as she possibly could, Laticia and Thomas only wanted to hurry to get somewhere if it benefited them. In a way, Katie's leaving _did_ benefit them, but they still wouldn't be in a hurry to get to the station.  
  
    With a last scrutinizing look in her trunk, Katie closed the top and locked it. She picked up a small bag that contained a book to read on the train, her pouch of money just in case she wanted to buy some snacks from the food cart, parchment, ink, and quills, and her wand. Then she observed herself in the full-length mirror on her closet door, making silent criticisms about her appearance to herself. She smoothed the invisible wrinkles in her knee-length pleated skirt, buttoned another button on her long-sleeved white blouse, and then tied her tie even tighter. She bent over to pull her white socks up closer to her knees and made sure her black dress shoes were properly shined. With a grin, Katie picked up her carry on bag and grabbed the handle of her trunk; perhaps she would be able to convince her parents to leave for the station five minutes earlier than necessary.  
  
    She found her parents seated in the living room, each of them reading a book and giving the other a death glare every now and then. Katie rolled her eyes. "Are you two ready to take me to the station?" she asked, perhaps a bit eagerly -- but Katie _was_ eager to leave her house and her parents' arguments behind. Hogwarts, where all her friends, Quidditch, not to mention Oliver Wood, were was a fantastic trade off for her less than ideal home, in Katie's opinion.  
  
    Laticia looked up at her daughter and sighed as if taking Katie to King's Cross was a laborious task. "I suppose," Laticia said in a bored manner. "Do you want to come, Thomas, or are you planning on screwing that hussy of yours while we're gone?" Laticia's question was so nonchalant, like it was a question that one would ask normally. _Well, in this house, it is a normal question,_ Katie reminded herself.  
  
    "Actually, yes," Thomas said sarcastically. "My 'hussy', as you so eloquently put it, is also bringing a friend of hers and all three of us are going to have wild sex right here in the living room. We might even decide to move on to the master bedroom." Reaching the end of his sentence, Thomas returned to his reading and ignored the yelled, profane comment that Laticia made.  
  
    No, there was no doubt about it; Katie was going to be _very_ glad to board that train in a mere few minutes.  
  
    ~  
  
    Katie had just emerged onto Platform 9 3/4 when an excited, familiar voice called her name. "Kates! Katie! Get your sorry arse over here _now_!" Angelina Johnson, who was standing amongst a few other friends of Katie's, was waving to Katie wildly, her hair bouncing on her shoulders and her face glowing. Katie laughed and gladly joined the group, which consisted of Angelina, Alicia Spinnet, Fred and George Weasley, and Cassidy Baker, a shy sixth year who had tried out for the Quidditch team the year before and made Keeper. Of course, Cassidy had quickly befriended the others in the group and had even dated Fred for a short time, much to Alicia's chagrin (it was a well-known fact that Alicia had been harboring a rather large crush on the redhead for quite a while). However, they had broken up a short time afterwards, leaving Alicia a very happy girl.  
  
    Grinning, Katie enveloped each of her friends in a tight, short hug, then straightened up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You all have no idea how glad I am to finally get out of that hellhole I call home," Katie said, her voice relieved. "I've been counting down the days until September first!"  
  
    They all laughed. "Having family problems again, Kate?" George asked sympathetically. The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team knew about Katie's unresolved anger towards each other because she figured if she couldn't trust the people she spent the most time with, who could she trust? They had all been really great about it since she told them the previous year.  
  
    "'Problems' is an understatement, George," Katie answered truthfully, sighing. "They've been at each other's throats all summer. I was just about to pull my hair out of my head in frustration." The frown disappeared off her face just as quickly as it came and she grinned. "But I'm going to Hogwarts now, so I won't have to worry about my parents for months!"  
  
    Once again, they all laughed. Attempting to get the subject steered away from her, Katie asked Cassidy what she had done over the summer. Cassidy promptly blushed and merely stated that she had "met somebody" that she had instantly "fell in love with", which made the other girls let out a chorus of "How sweet!" while the boys rolled their eyes and grumbled a bit. The boys couldn't stand the girls' chatter for very long and left to find friends of the same gender, claiming that the "sticky sweet stuff" was not their style.  
  
    "Men," Alicia muttered, putting her hands on her hips. As she said this, though, her gaze followed Fred until he could no longer be seen in the crowd.  
  
    "Ooh, does Alicia _still_ have a crush on Freddy-Weddy?" Cassidy teased, using the nickname she had given Fred while they had dated; Fred hated it, and just to make him mad, Cassidy still called him that.  
  
    Alicia's cheeks immediately turned crimson, which Angelina gleefully pointed out. "You all," Alicia said, smiling. "I'm over that childish stage in my life. I've grown up; Fred hasn't!"  
  
    "Right," Angelina said, nudging Alicia. "We believe you, right girls?" At Angelina's question, Katie and Cassidy both nodded.  
  
    "Fine!" Alicia exclaimed after a few minutes of being under the gazes of the other three girls. "I do still like him -- just a little, though -- but it's not like anything could ever happen between us. He's made it quite clear that we're just friends because 'wouldn't it be odd to be teammates _and_ a couple'?" She sighed. "He didn't seem to mind when he dated you, Cass."  
  
    A guilty look immediately appeared on Cassidy's face. "Alicia, I wouldn't have said yes to him if I had known that you liked him!" she exclaimed. Cassidy was a very sensitive person and already Katie could see tears forming in her eyes. "You're not still mad, are you?" Cassidy sounded truly worried.  
  
    It was Alicia's turn to look guilty. "Cass, I forgave you _ages_ ago," she assured the other girl. "It's Fred who I'm still kind of mad at; I mean, how can he say he can't go out with me because we're teammates when he already went out with you?"  
  
    Always the voice of reason in the bunch, Angelina spoke up, "Maybe he decided that since it didn't work out with Cass, it wouldn't work out with you. There's no reason to hold a grudge."  
  
    "I guess you're right," Alicia agreed reluctantly. "But I'm still hurt."  
  
    "And that's perfectly fine," Katie put in, patting Alicia on the back. "It's _his_ loss, girl."  
  
    Alicia nodded although she didn't look like she believed her friends' words. A silence passed and then Angelina let out a squeal, attracting the attention of not only the girls, but a few passers by, as well. "Have any of you heard that we have a new flying professor?"  
  
    "Really?" Cassidy and Alicia asked in unison, looking very enthralled.  
  
    Angelina nodded enthusiastically. "Madam Hooch is taking a break or something like that and someone from Puddlemere United is going to fill her position this year! I wonder who, though ..."  
  
    Smiling secretly to herself, Katie turned away from the girls. She wasn't sure if she should tell them just yet that the one who was replacing Madam Hooch was none other than Oliver. They would find out soon enough ... but if they discovered that Katie had known all along, they might get upset with her and Katie certainly didn't want that. In the end of her internal debate, however, Katie decided that she would let them find out when Oliver came to visit her on the train; he had promised, after all. Katie liked knowing that she knew something the others didn't; it was very empowering.  
  
    "Kate?" Angelina's voice jostled Katie out of her thoughts. When Katie looked at her, Angelina grinned and said, "Let's go find a compartment on the train before it decides to leave without us! Cass and Alicia went ahead with their luggage; they each brought their entire house, I think."  
  
    Katie laughed and nodded, grabbing onto the handle of her trunk once again. Angelina did the same and they began dragging them toward the train, gaining very little ground with each tug. By the time they had halfway reached the train, they both had to stop and wipe the sweat from their brows.  
  
    "This is a reminder to pack lightly," Katie wheezed, wondering how in the world she had managed to pull it _onto_ the platform from the station and why in the world she hadn't used a trolley like any normal person would have. She grimaced and watched as Angelina started forward again. Katie was just ready to give up and leave her damn trunk on the platform when she felt someone's robe billow against her leg.  
  
    A deep masculine voice proclaimed, "Katie, you're going to injure yourself before you even get on the pitch for the first time! Let me help you with that!" Of course, it was Oliver who had appeared behind her and taken hold of her trunk. At his arrival, Angelina turned around and gaped, staring at Katie first, then Oliver. Her gaze alternated between the two and then she placed her hands on her hips and gave Katie a glare; then she smiled sweetly at Oliver.  
  
    "What're you doing here, Wood?" she questioned. "I thought I'd finally gotten rid of the Quidditch Nazi when you left Hogwarts!"  
  
    Oliver laughed. "Ang, what makes you think you're that lucky?" he questioned teasingly. "Didn't Kate tell you that Dumbledore offered me a teaching position here this year?"  
  
    Angelina raised her eyebrows. "No, she didn't," she said. "What sort of teaching position? Charms, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy?" She gave a pointed look to Katie before adding, almost as an afterthought, "Flying?"  
  
    Obviously confused, Oliver nodded. "Why would I teach a course I was horrible at?" he questioned.  
  
    "Oh, I was just wondering because when us girls (Kates, Cass, Alicia, and I) were talking about the new flying instructor, Kates didn't say anything about it being _you_."  
  
    Oliver feigned surprise, bringing a hand up to his chest. "Why, Katie -- I simply cannot believe that you would fail to mention me!" he exclaimed. "I'm hurt." A pout formed on his face as Katie rolled her eyes.  
  
    "Please, spare me," she murmured, talking to both Oliver and Angelina. "So I didn't tell you; get over it." Katie stared at Oliver. "And you get enough attention, so what does it matter if little old me didn't mention you? Now why don't you help Ang and me get our damn trunks on the train before it leaves us!"  
  
    Oliver saluted her before hoisting Katie's trunk into his arms and carrying it on the train.  
  
    ~  
  
    "I can't believe you didn't say you knew it was Oliver," Angelina whispered during the first years' Sorting. A small, wiry boy with a pasty complexion called Alex Monterrey was currently being scrutinized by the hat, looking very much frightened. As the hat boomed, "GRYFFINDOR!", Angelina asked the question again.  
  
    "I didn't think it really mattered that much," Katie whispered back, sighing. And she hadn't; if she had known keeping the knowledge from Angelina would be this big of a deal, she would have spilled everything, including talking to Oliver while she shopped in Diagon Alley, to her friend. "It's not that big of a deal, Ang."  
  
    "I know," Angelina chirped. "I just wanted to annoy you."  
  
    Katie had to laugh at that. "I thought you were mad at me! Don't do that again, Ang!" she cried quietly as "Nunley, Rhiannon" was called to be Sorted.  
  
    "I can't make any promises." Angelina grinned brightly at Katie, making Katie shake her head in disbelief. Angelina really was a character.  
  
    Pretty soon, the Sorting was over and all the first years were settled at their House tables, looking shy and scared to death. Katie smiled comfortingly at a little girl with blonde hair sitting across from her and the girl smiled back, just a little. Dumbledore stepped up to the front of the Great Hall to make his start of term speech.  
  
    "I welcome each of you back to Hogwarts," he began, "for a new, hopefully peaceful year of schooling. This year, we have a particularly large first year and I hope each of you older students will do your best to make them feel right at home here. First years, if you feel the need, do not hesitate to ask one of the older students for help with one of your courses, because I am sure they will be obliged to assist you in any way they can.  
  
    "Second years, it is now the year that you are able to try out for your House Quidditch team. This year, we have a new flying instructor to take the place of Madam Rolanda Hooch, who is visiting family in America; please give a warm welcome to Professor Oliver Wood, who just completed his final year of Hogwarts two years ago." At that, a burst of applause resounded through the Great Hall and Katie had a hunch that most of the noise was coming from the female population. She sat back in her chair and rolled her eyes before looking straight at Oliver, who was sitting at the Head Table. He caught Katie's eye and grinned; she returned the grin and gave him a thumbs-up.  
  
    "Fifth years, this is the year that you must be studying for your OWLs; seventh years, your NEWTs will be upon you before you know it. Please do not waste your time with frivolous nonsense." Dumbledore's speech continued. Finally, he said, "And, as a last note, the Forbidden Forest is, as its name implies, forbidden. Please do not go traipsing around in it. Now, enjoy the feast!"  
  
    As Katie dug into the delicious food that the house-elves had prepared, she couldn't keep herself from stealing glances of Oliver every now and then. She noticed, much to her dislike, that many of the other girls in the room were doing the exact same thing as she was. Right then and there, all hopes Katie had of possibly forming a relationship with Oliver were crushed. _It's not like there was much hope to begin with ..._  
  


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_To be continued ..._  
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**_AN: Thanks so much to all of my lovely reviewers! You all are absolutely fantastic! Keep 'em coming, please! (See, I even said please! That must tell you that I'm an incredibly nice person!)  
  
This chapter is a bit shorter than the last, but it's still quite long ... don't you think? I tried to make it longer, but it just seemed to reach a natural stopping point and I think it would have gotten far too long if I had continued with the next scene -- whatever that is!  
  
Snidgetlass ~ Aw, thank you! Yes, Sean Biggerstaff is quite yummy. *g*  
baabaa ~ Thanks!  
Ash Carroll ~ Thank you very much! I hope this is soon enough for you. *g*  
nortshell ~ Ah, no worries ... there's plenty of romance coming up! I e-mailed you back, btw.  
  
_**


	3. III Return of the Quidditch Nazi

_** In chapter three, the Gryffindor's first Quidditch practice of the season takes place, with Oliver there to watch. A small fight between Katie and Oliver ensues and Quidditch practice ends on a sour note. Angelina and Oliver have a talk and later, Oliver apologizes to Katie in a sweet way.**_  
  


---------------------------------  
**Of Love and Quidditch**  
May 2003  
  
_by: KT_  
---------------------------------  
  
**III**  
  


    A bright light flooded into Katie's eyes early one morning and she let out a loud groan and rolled over onto her side, moving her fluffy pillow over her head to block the light. She was unsuccessful, however, because someone tugged at the pillow until they managed to pry it away from her, then they pulled her covers down. Katie's body, clad only in a pair of shorts and a thin camisole, was met with a shock of cool air and she shivered before curling up into a ball and burying her head in her arms.  
  
    "Katie Bell, rise and shine!" came the plaintive voice of Angelina Johnson. Katie let out a groan in response. "We have _practice_ this morning, Kateums!"  
  
    Katie groaned again. "Who died and made you queen?" Katie asked sleepily, not moving from her position on her bed.  
  
    Angelina made a small noise. "No one, but I'm captain and I say that we have practice this morning." To Katie, Angelina's voice sounded a bit indignant, so to avoid getting on her bad side, Katie rolled out of bed and landed on the floor, which woke her up properly. She looked up at Angelina to see the other girl beaming.  
  
    "Happy now?" Katie asked dryly, standing up and rubbing her bottom, which had hit the floor with the most impact. She pulled her shorts, which were riding up her thigh, down and then pulled the hem of her camisole over the waistband of the shorts.  
  
    Angelina crossed her arms. "I will be when you get ready for Quidditch practice," she stated. It was then that Katie noticed that Angelina was already wearing her crimson Quidditch practice robes and the door to the bathroom was closed; presumably, Alicia was in there getting ready, since their only other roommate, Rachel Benson, was still fast asleep in her bed.  
  
    Grumbling, Katie dug through her trunk until she pulled out a slightly wrinkled set of practice robes. "You know, I seriously hate you right now," she mumbled as she pulled her Quidditch robes over her head, not bothering to take off her night clothes; since it was a Saturday, Katie planned on coming back upstairs after practice and going back to sleep.  
  
    Without even flinching, Angelina looked straight at Katie and said, "Ask me how much I care." Then she turned and headed for the door of their dormitory, stopping to turn back to give Katie some instructions. "Be down at the pitch in ten minutes; if you're late, you have to run four laps." She flashed Katie a smile before walking out of the room, humming a cheerful tune under her breath.  
  
    Katie let out a loud screech before reaching for the nearest object -- a hairbrush -- and hurling it toward the closed door. She was _not_ a morning person. Then, calmly, Katie sat down on her bed to wait for Alicia to finish in the bathroom so she could go brush her teeth.  
  
    A few minutes later, Katie and Alicia were making their way down to the pitch, where they could see a few figures on broomsticks already flying around. Katie rolled her eyes, briefly wondering how these people could get up at five in the morning and still function properly. She had experienced the early, early, early morning practices when Oliver was captain many times, yet she still hadn't gotten used to it. In fact, she doubted she ever would.  
  
    "They're going to give us hell, you know that, right?" Alicia whispered to Katie, sounding amused.  
  
    "Of course ... it would be unlike them _not_ to," was Katie's sour remark. She shifted her broom in her arms and lifted up her long robes to avoid getting mud from the slightly wet ground on the bottom; she hated that.   
  
    When Katie and Alicia reached the pitch, the first thing Katie noticed was that one of the figures flying in the air was Oliver. He was doing theatrical dives and difficult maneuvers, showing off just how skilled he was in the air. Katie had to smile; she had seen Oliver fly before -- many times, in fact -- but she had never seen him fly while wearing a huge grin on his face. Usually, he was too focused at Quidditch practices to smile. Katie could have watched him forever, but Angelina caught sight of her two missing Chasers and landed directly in front of them, snapping Katie's attention away from Oliver.  
  
    "You're one minute late," Angelina informed them matter-of-factly. "I would make you run laps, but since one minute isn't such a large deal and Oliver has been showing off anyway, I'll be nice." Angelina grinned at the girls, who smiled back. "Get up there, you two."  
  
    Katie looked at Alicia and rolled her eyes but obeyed her captain and mounted her broom before rising gracefully into the air. Alicia did the same and after they had flown around the pitch for a warm-up lap, Angelina shooed Oliver out of the air and onto the wet grass. Looking more than a bit put out, he sat on a bench on the side of the pitch and focused his gaze upwards.  
  
    About ten minutes into practice, Oliver stood up from his spot and cupped his hands around his mouth, like he was going to yell up at the flyers in the air. "Katie! You're moving a little slow today -- it's not good for Chasers to be moving slow!" he called. Oliver received a dirty look from Angelina, who was obviously far from happy about him taking her captain duties.  
  
    Shooting Oliver the most hateful look she could muster, Angelina said, "Yeah, Katie ... look alive!"  
  
    Katie smiled at both of them and tried to speed up a bit. Evidently, she still wasn't moving quick enough for her former Quidditch captain because Oliver stood up again just about ten minutes later. "KATIE! Move, move move!" he barked, sounding very much like a drill sergeant.  
  
    Had Oliver only done this once, Katie would have accepted it gracefully. However, the fact of the matter was that Oliver continually stood up to criticize Katie about _something_, be it how fast she was flying, how she didn't pass the Quaffle to Alicia properly, or how she _almost_ missed the Quaffle when Angelina passed it to her the last time, which could have had major ramifications if this were a real Quidditch game. Finally Katie, who had quite enough of Oliver, landed. She dismounted her broom and marched over to him, her hands on her hips.  
  
    "Oliver," Katie said through clenched teeth, balling her hands up into fists. "You are not captain. Angelina is. If she sees something wrong with how I am playing Quidditch, she has the right to tell me so. You, having no affiliation with the Gryffindor House team any longer, do not." Her voice was icy as she spoke, which indicated that Katie meant business. "_Please_ stop it."  
  
    "I was just trying to help you, Katie!" Oliver exclaimed, sounding offended. "If you're playing like crap, I bloody will tell you!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Oliver realized what he had just said and to who -- Katie was infamous for her attitude and her huge temper tantrums that she occasionally threw, and Oliver had been witness to many of them; luckily, he hadn't been the cause of any of them ... yet. He had the feeling that Katie was about to launch one right there, however. "I don't mean that you're playing like crap," he quickly amended, but it was too late.  
  
    Scrunching up her eyebrows and glaring at him, Katie screamed, "You, Oliver Wood, are a jackass!" Then she began pummeling him with her fists.  
  
    _Damn, she's strong,_ was the first sentence that came to Oliver's mind after Katie began trying to beat him up. Oliver was unsuccessfully trying to hold her off and he shot a pleading glance over the girl's shoulder at Angelina, who just shrugged, not wanting to get in Katie's way. Finally, Katie delivered such a hard blow to Oliver's chest that he lost his balance in the slippery grass and fell flat on his bottom. With a triumphant grin, Katie gave him one last kick on the leg before grabbing her broom, hiking up her robes, and marching toward the castle.  
  
    "Damn," Fred and George said in unison, giving each other a bewildered look.  
  
    "Yeah, damn," Cassidy echoed, laughing comically before following after Katie to attempt to talk some sense into the girl.  
  
    Angelina let out a sigh. "I guess practice is over," she muttered, watching Katie and Cassidy walking away. "Hit the showers ..." She watched as Fred, George, and Harry Potter dismounted their brooms and walked toward the Quidditch changing rooms, then turned back to the professor. "Oliver, you are going to apologize to Katie."  
  
    "Excuse me?" Oliver exclaimed, pushing himself up from where he had fallen. "Why should I apologize to Katie when she's the one who hit me?" He seemed absolutely shocked at Angelina's words and his voice gave that away.  
  
    "You provoked her, knowing what would happen!" was Angelina's reply. Seeing that Oliver was still wearing a dumbfounded look, Angelina rolled her eyes. "You know how bitchy that girl can get, yet you still criticized her every move! Dammit, Ol ... you were just _asking_ for it!"  
  
    Oliver raised an eyebrow. "She wasn't playing to her full potential! I was just trying to help, and she got offended!" he said in reply, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly. "She should have to apologize to me, not the other way around."  
  
    At that point, Oliver was sure that he heard Angelina mutter, "Moronic men," under her breath. She looked up at him expectantly. "Oliver, you _will_ apologize to her. I will not have her playing 'like crap' at our first game! And she sure as hell won't be playing well if she's pissed off at you!"  
  
    A guilty look formed on Oliver's face. He knew how important winning games was to captains, as he had been captain of the same team just two years earlier. If he felt like a loss for the Gryffindors was even remotely his fault, he would feel guilty for ages. "I guess I could say sorry," Oliver managed to get out, frowning a little. "But Katie really needs to learn to accept criticism!"  
  
    Angelina shook her head. This time, she voiced her opinion of Oliver aloud. "You are a moron!" she exclaimed, smacking him hard on the chest before turning around and walking toward the changing rooms.  
  
    Oliver stared after her, gaping. That made two times he had been hit by a girl in the past fifteen minutes! Today was just not a good day. Letting out a low groan, Oliver made his way back to the castle, thinking about how he could make his apology one that Katie would be unable to refuse.  
  
    ~  
  
    "Oliver Wood is an insufferable git," Katie proclaimed to the girls she shared a dormitory with. "I cannot stand the man!"  
  
    It was later that night and the girls were all lying on their beds, attempting to get their homework done before it got too late. Actually, Angelina and Alicia were attempting to get their homework done; Katie was still complaining about Oliver and what he had done at Quidditch practice earlier that morning and Rachel, their other roommate, was out with her boyfriend somewhere. Angelina, who had the sudden urge to bash Katie's head in the nearest wall, gave Katie a look. "Why don't you just talk to him about it and tell him that you didn't appreciate what he said?" she asked as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Angelina sure hoped that Oliver was planning on apologizing to Katie _very_ soon; she didn't think she could handle much more of Katie being angry with him.  
  
    "Uh, because I cannot stand him," came Katie's reply.  
  
    Alicia rolled her eyes at Angelina, making Angelina grin in response. "Kate, why are you making such a huge deal of this? I think you're blowing this out of the water!"  
  
    "Yeah," Angelina added. "I talked to him afterwards and he said he was just trying to be helpful. There's no reason to try and beat someone up if they just try to help you out."  
  
    Katie's mouth fell open as she glared at her friends. "I cannot believe you two! You're taking _his_ side!"  
  
    "Whoa," Alicia said calmly. "We're not taking _anybody's_ side ... Ang and I are just trying to tell you that he didn't mean anything by it!"  
  
    Judging by the way that Katie's face was turning a dark shade of red, Angelina realized that she and Alicia were doing nothing but making the other girl even angrier -- and given her temper, that wasn't a good thing. Angelina opened her mouth to apologize but was interrupted by a knocking on their window. At first, Angelina thought nothing of it as she stood up to walk across the room to the window. As she opened it, however, she gasped. "What the hell," she breathed. The window was opened and there was Oliver, on his broom, smiling jovially at the girls inside, who were all gaping at him.  
  
    "Oliver!" Alicia screeched. "What the hell are you doing? You're going to get in trouble with McGonagall!"  
  
    "I'm a professor," Oliver said airily, as if he didn't really care. He looked straight at Katie, who was glaring at him over the top of the book she was "reading"; it was upside down, he noted. "I just came to see if there was someone in here who might want to take a midnight fly with me." Although Oliver's eyes were clearly focused on Katie, Alicia started to take Oliver up on the offer, but Angelina nudged her in the ribs, making her let out a gasp of realization. "Miss Bell?" Oliver asked.  
  
    "I don't think so," Katie replied coldly. "Homework, you know."  
  
    For a brief moment, Oliver looked hurt. Then his expression changed rapidly and he shot a dirty look at Katie. "Bell, if you don't get your arse out this window, I will do something so bad that I don't even know what it is yet!" he threatened.  
  
    She made a face. "Bite me, Wood," she snapped, standing up from her bed. Katie tossed the book she was holding onto her bed and grabbed her bathrobe, which was laying across the bottom of her bed. She walked toward the bathroom, but was stopped by Angelina, who had rushed across the room and grabbed her friend's arm.  
  
    "Oh no you don't," Angelina said sternly, taking the robe from Katie's hands and putting it back where Katie had gotten it from. "You are going to join Oliver and you are going to enjoy it!"  
  
    Katie snorted in an unladylike manner and wrenched her arm free from Angelina's grasp. "Like hell I am!" she yelled, grabbing for her robe again. Angelina grabbed it from her and threw it across the room, then stood in a stance that was just crying, "Try me" to Katie. Katie let out a loud groan. "Do I have to?" she whined childishly.  
  
    "Yes," Angelina and Alicia said together. "He's being gentlemanly enough to attempt to apologize to you, and you're not going to act like a bitch about it!" Angelina added for effect. She pushed Katie toward a hopeful-looking Oliver.  
  
    Katie seemed conflicted with her decision but that didn't last long. With just one look at Oliver, who was wearing his trademark puppy-dog face, Katie caved. That was the one look she had _never_ been able to resist, no matter how mad at him she was, and tonight was no different. Letting out a defeated sigh, Katie reached for her cloak and climbed out the window, allowing Oliver to help her as she steadied herself behind him on his broom. "If you do anything that pisses me off, I will push you off this damn broom," Katie hissed into his ear so that only he could hear her threat.  
  
    Knowing that Katie meant it, Oliver nodded quickly. "Don't worry about it," he said. He turned his head to give Alicia and Angelina a smug look; they grinned at him and Alicia mouthed, "Good luck, you'll need it." At that, Oliver laughed inwardly. "See you two later," he told the others before flying off into the night sky.  
  
    As they watched them go, Angelina glanced worriedly at Alicia. "You don't suppose having them do this is a death wish for Oliver, do you?"  
  
    Alicia bit her lip. "As long as he manages to keep Katie's temper in check, then I don't think so. Otherwise ..." She made a slicing sound as she ran her index finger along her neck.  
  
    Together, the girls frowned. "Poor Oliver," they said in unison before bursting into side-splitting laughter.  
  
    ~  
  
    Meanwhile, Oliver was flying Katie through the night sky, making the occasional wild dive or sharp turn for no reason at all other than wanting to hear Katie shriek frightfully, "OLIVER!" When Katie flew, she was in control of her broom; however, when someone else flew her, she was always terrified. That was something that never failed to amuse Oliver to no end.  
  
    "Where are you taking me?" Katie asked, a soft edge to her voice. She wanted Oliver to know that she was still angry at him, but not overwhelmingly so. After all, he was taking her for a midnight fly; if this had been in any other situation, Katie would have thought this was terribly romantic.  
  
    "Somewhere," was Oliver's cryptic answer.  
  
    Katie knew that she would be unable to get anything else out of him; obviously, whatever Oliver had planned, it was meant to be a surprise. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, hoping to receive more of an answer this time than what she received last time.  
  
    "To apologize for acting like an asshole this morning; it was wrong of me."  
  
    That brought a large smile to Katie's face and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force it away. They flew in silence for a bit longer until Oliver swooped down in a heart-dropping dive before landing smoothly in the middle of a Quidditch pitch; Hogwarts' Quidditch pitch, to be more specific. Katie squealed when she noticed a red and white checkered blanket sprawled a few feet away, with a picnic basket on top. Also laying on the blanket was a bouquet of red roses, Katie's favorite flower.  
  
    "Oh, Oliver," Katie breathed as several unknown emotions flooded through her. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and at that moment, Katie realized something ... she had fallen for Oliver all over again -- that was why Oliver's words at Quidditch practice had sounded overly harsh to her ears, and why she had flown off the handle. Katie had had an enormous crush on him for some time while he was still at Hogwarts, and for the first time, she realized that the two years he had been out of school had only been effective in intensifying her feelings for him rather than helping them disappear as she had hoped.  
  
    Oliver's light laugh broke Katie out of her thoughts and she stared at him for a moment before asking, "What?"  
  
    Through his laughter, Oliver asked, "Well, are you going to stare at that with stars in your eyes or are you going to join me for a picnic?" He gestured toward the blanket and Katie grinned before sitting down cross-legged. Smiling, Oliver followed her.  
  
    The two enjoyed a light midnight snack for a little while. Then, Katie leaned back on Oliver and gazed up at the star-filled sky. When she was a little girl, she had lain outside with her father and had tried to identify the constellations; that practice had soon ceased when her parents began arguing more and more and her father became more reclusive. Though she had never admitted it aloud -- or even to herself, for that matter -- she missed it. She missed how things used to be before, when her parents loved each other and when her mother wasn't paranoid about Thomas having various affairs behind her back ... when her older brother, Jake, still lived with them. Jake had moved out a few years earlier, as soon as he turned eighteen; now twenty-three, Jake shared a flat in London with his longtime girlfriend; he had escaped from the constant yelling and hatred that inhabitated the Bells' home, like Katie planned to do once she finished Hogwarts. Katie missed seeking solace in Jake whenever her parents' fighting was so tremendous that her ears hurt and she felt like crying ... unaware that Oliver noticed, Katie allowed herself to cry silently for a moment before Oliver's voice brought her crashing down to the real world.  
  
    "Katie?" Oliver asked, alarmed at Katie's sudden mood change. "What's wrong?"  
  
    She wiped her tears away and smiled blearily at him. "Nothing. Everything's perfect." And in that moment, it was.  
  


---------------------------------  
_To be continued ..._  
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**_AN: We watched "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" in English on Friday -- it's a creepy, bizarre movie, but it's great! Hehe. I recommend it to anyone. :)  
  
Anyway, this chapter was originally only going to contain the Quidditch practice and Katie and Oliver's fight, but I found that to be too short so I added the make up scene as well. That chapter was a lot of fun to write, especially the make up scene! I want an Oliver! Well, I'm not sure if this chapter was up to par with the two previous ones, but it was definitely fun to write.  
  
Ali Lee ~ Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far; I'm definitely enjoying writing it.  
Cinnamon ~ Wow, a nice, long review! Hm, let's just say that dear Ollie is on the train because ... because he is. Hehe. There will probably be more from the twins, but most of this fic will be focused around Oliver and Katie. There may be some Alicia/Fred romance in here somewhere! In chapter two, it is mentioned that Cassidy Baker is the new Keeper. Once again, a billion thanks!  
Bil ~ Yes, I love reading stories about the minor characters, particularly Oliver and Katie. Thanks.  
Elle-poohbear ~ Thank you and I'll try! :)  
  
_**


	4. IV Oliveritis

****

Disclaimer: HP doesn't belong to me and it never will, despite all my wishes that I have made. I do own the plot, however, and that makes me a very happy girl.

****

Author's Notes: Geez…guys, I'm so sorry for the huge delay in posting this chapter. I feel like such a bad person. =*( Your reviews were all incredible! The delay, however, couldn't be helped due to the fact that school got hectic near the end and there was a lot of pent-up band drama that spun out of control all of a sudden! Plus my computer started being stupid and we had to get a new one. I had been working on this chapter off and on for a while, but since we got a new computer, I lost it all, as you may have guessed. I'm very sorry, though!

Ugh, my penname now has that horrible "4" added onto the end of it. Yuck.

Okay, with that being said, please read and review this chapter!

****

Of Love and Quidditch

By KT

IV

Angelina gave Alicia a worried look when Katie climbed back through the window after her late night excursion with Oliver Wood--not because of how late it was, but because of the goofy, uncharacteristically happy grin that was plastered on her face. The two girls watched their roommate as she said goodbye to Oliver and remained at the window until he was no longer in sight. It was only when Katie heaved a sigh and fell backwards onto her bed that Angelina dared to speak.

"Er--Katie?" she asked in a tentative, careful voice.

Katie sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. She stared across the room at Angelina and Alicia, wearing a dreamy look on her face. "Yeah, Ang?" she questioned. Her voice was obviously happy, which made her friends wonder what had gone on between Katie and Oliver.

Angelina cast another glance at Alicia before continuing, "Did Oliver cast some sort of…spell on you or something?"

There was a long pause during which Katie just stared blankly at Angelina and Alicia. Then, all of a sudden, she burst into laughter. "Did he cast a spell on me?" she asked through gales of side-splitting laughter. "Of course he didn't. What makes you ask that?"

Alicia grinned. "You're just very…" Her voice trailed off as she attempted to come up with the word she was looking for. "…happy," she finished finally, drawing another laugh from Katie.

"What an extensive vocabulary you have, Alicia," Katie said in a teasing voice. "And is it a crime for me to be happy for once?"

Quickly, Alicia exclaimed, "Of course not!" Katie sometimes got testy, and a testy Katie was not something that anybody in their right mind would enjoy to see at that time of night.

Or any time, actually.

"It's just kind of…" Again, Alicia's voice trailed off as she racked her brain for a proper word to fit into the sentence.

"Abnormal," Angelina finished for the other girl. "It's not a bad thing, but you're normally so high-strung. It's nice to see you actually grinning for a change!"

Another sigh escaped Katie and she flopped onto her back once again. "I don't know what it is about him, but Oliver just has the uncanny ability to make me feel so fantastic, but he also has the equally uncanny ability to piss me off like no one else can! I mean, at practice…you saw me trying to kick his puny arse, but then tonight…he held me in his arms and I just felt so safe. It was like I was a little girl again, lost in a magical world as I stargazed with Daddy. I can't even explain it properly!"

A large smile formed on Angelina's face. "Lish, what do you think about this?" she asked in a mock-serious tone. "What would you diagnose Ms. Bell with?"

In the same mock-serious tone, Alicia responded, "I would diagnose her with a very dangerous case of Oliver-itis, Ang. It's a disease that seems to be rapidly spreading among teenage girls in the wizarding world, particularly those who play Quidditch."

"Oh yes, I believe I've heard quite a bit about this newly discovered disease," said Angelina, continuing on with their little game, despite the fact that Katie's grin had turned into a frown. "What would you recommend for the treatment of Ms. Bell?"

Alicia paused as she pretended to ponder over Angelina's question. "I would recommend a snogging session with Oliver, Ang," she said finally. "Snogging _is_ the best medicine, you know!"

They continued on with their for a few more minutes, but then Katie cleared her throat and gained their attention once again.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you for making fun of me while I was in the room," she said, but her voice had a trace of laughter in it. "Secondly, I do _not_ have Oliver-itis! And thirdly, who the hell has heard of the phrase 'snogging is the best medicine'? Isn't it supposed to be 'laughter is the best medicine'?"

Alicia and Angelina shrugged simultaneously. "Snogging, laughter…same difference!" Alicia insisted enthusiastically, drawing a frustrated noise from Katie.

"Think whatever you want, but I'm going to bed!" Katie said finally, climbing underneath her covers and using her wand to extinguish the light on her bedside table.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes: Sorry that this is such a short chapter; I just wanted to get something out before you all thought I had disappeared off the face of the earth. ;) The next one will be longer--much longer--or your money back! LOL. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews for the last chapter…they meant so much to me!!!! It was unbelievable. 

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swim girl~ Thanks! The Quidditch pitch picnic was inspired by a friend of mine, so I'll be sure to tell her that you liked her idea!

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BoPeep~ Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. And yes, Oliver and flying go hand-in-hand, but what else can you expect from the Quidditch Nazi?

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**Elle-poohbear****~** Here's another chapter! Thanks for reviewing.

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Professional scatterbrain~ Thank you. Katie/Oliver are one of my favorite couples, so I love all K/O stories too. And this chapter wasn't out very quick, but it's a new chapter nevertheless.

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Bil~ Woohoo! That made my day. Characterization has never really been a strong point of mine, so knowing that you think they seem real is a great compliment.

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Cinnamon Angel~ I agree; people need to write more K/O stories, because they are the best! =P Thanks for the (long) review.

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Nortshell~ Yeah, once we get into the actual K/O relationship, the whole teacher/student thing will become an issue. Thanks!

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Crazy Canadian~ Thanks!

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**Wiccan-One14****~** Glad you think so; hopefully this chapter was up to par, as well.

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Scarlett Darling~ Thank you! I love them together, too.

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**NiNaPoP****~** Thank you. I plan on continuing this story until it is done, or until I wear it out--whichever comes first! LOL

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Christelle~ Ah, of course the K/O action is coming soon! LOL

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Dorkus~ *blushes* What a compliment! Thanks!

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Starrika~ Yeah, I wanted to portray her home life as less than perfect. Thanks for the review!

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Gizelle~ Here it is a few months later, and I have finally continued! Thanks for the review!

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Woody'sWickedWitch~ LOL…I was tempted to have them kiss, but decided in the long run that it was too soon. But no fears--a K/O kiss is going to be featured in the near future, I can promise you that!

If I forgot anyone, I am so sorry, but I sort of hurried through these! I offer my deepest apologies if I did miss anybody. =) 

Until,

KT


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